


An Absolute Cataclysm

by taosaf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Almost death, CHLOE IS PURE AND SWEET AND SHES A LEADER AND I LOVE HER, Good Chloé, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Peacock Nathanael, TURTLE NINO, bee chloe, fox alya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2018-10-20 17:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10667166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taosaf/pseuds/taosaf
Summary: Chat Noir finds out who Hawkmoth is and it causes him melancholy, after all, it does put Ladybug and Chat Noir on different sides.





	1. Chapter 1

"Dude, are you okay?" Nino asked snapping his fingers in front of Adrien's face. Adrien had fought an akuma last night and it lasted until 3 in the morning, so he was exhausted.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What were you saying?" Adrien asked his friend.

"I was talking about the party this Friday and how I'm going to be DJing for it. I can't believe that Chloe Bourgeois wants me to play at her party!" Nino rambled on for a little while longer about how good it would be for his career, but Adrien couldn't pay attention. It wasn't that he didn't care, he was just really tired.

"Hey Alya, Marinette." Nino greeted after he was done talking.

"Hey Nino," both girls responded in sync.

"Hello," Adrien said to the girls that had already sat behind him.

"Hi Adrien." Marinette replied without even stuttering. Mid yawn she froze realizing who she just spoke to. She stared at the blond boy in front of her. Alya let out a slight laugh. She leaned over to the bluenette.

"You said something to him without stuttering! Granted it was only two words, but that's a record for you!" Alya whispered excitedly in her friends ear. A blush spread across Marinettes face. Before she could say anything, Madame Bustier walked into the class.

"Hello class." And with that she started the lesson.

 

* * *

 

"I can't believe that we got invited to a Bourgeois party!" Alya yelled, clutching the golden envelope that was handed to her.

"What if it's a prank? What if she's gong to dump slime on us or maybe cut up our outfits?" Marinette looked at the shimmering casing with uneasiness.

"But it was technically Sabrina who invited us and she likes us. Or, at least," Alya paused trying to find the right words. "She doesn't hate us."

"I'd guess, but I'm still a little nervous."

"What do you mean you can't come?!" A familiar voice yelled behind them. The girls turned to see Nino shouting at Adrien. They shared a confused look before moving closer to the two boys to hear the conversation.

"I mean that my dad just called me and told me that I have a photoshoot from four to eight tonight so even though I will technically be able to make it to the party I'm tired enough already but that will completely drain me." Adrien replied in one long sentence.

"What? You can't come?" Alya asked loudly.

"Sorry guys, you know how much I wish I could come, but this is really important." Adrien held on to the strap of his bag, looking down at his shoes sadly. He really did want to go, but his father was more important. He knew that his friends didn't mean to, but they made him feel kind of bad. He wanted to be there for Nino's first time playing a party. He wanted to be there for Chloe. He wanted to, but he couldn't and his feelings didn't go unnoticed.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," Marinette said after a few seconds of silence. All of them turned to her. She hadn't said anything yet and she had managed to say it without stuttering. Adrien looked up to see Marinette staring him in the eyes. Usually when people give him that look it never means anything. They say sorry but they don't mean it. But this was her actually apologizing. She looked genuinely upset.

"F-for what?" Adrien stuttered. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't go to the party.

"For everything," Marinette's eyes never left Adrien's. "I know how much you want to go but you can't because you don't want to disappoint your father. Every other kid in this school would go no matter what their parents said, but you won't. I heard about your mom, by the way." Marinette looked down sadly for a second before meeting Adrien's eyes again. Alya and Nino started in awe at Marinette. "I'm really sorry about that too. I've never lost a parent, or even anyone close to me, so I can't even begin to understand how much pain you and your father are constantly going through. You don't want to disappoint your father because both of you don't have anyone else. I'm sorry that we made you feel bad about not going to the party. I'm sorry that you can't go. I'm sorry that we made you feel like you had to. I'm sorry for everything." They all stared at Marinette in complete silence. She had never said more than a sentence to him before.

"I-" Alya started before silencing herself. Marinette giggled nervously.

"W-where did that c-come f-f-rom?Anyway t-that's j-just um, s-sorry, I-I-I should g-go. Bye." Marinette ran past them and towards her house. She heard footsteps echoing behind her.

"Girl! Wait!" Alya's voice yelled from behind.

"I," Marinette had trouble breathing after running that much. "Can't... believe... I... just... did... that!"

"I can't believe... you just did that either!" Alya replied, out of breath as well. Marinette looked back at the schoolyard to see Adrien and Nino still just standing there. Marinette sighed and pushed open the door to her parents bakery.

"Hi honey," Her mother greeted. "Oh, and hello Alya."

"Hey, mom." Marinette walked through the bakery.

"Hello, Madam Dupain-Cheng." Alya followed.

"Alya, I told you to call me Sabine." Sabine hugged both girls. "Marinette, you know you don't always have to come in through the bakery right? You can go through the front door."

"I know but I needed to talk to you. There's a party tonight and I was wondering if I could go." Marinette grabbed two cookies off of the tray and handed one to Alya.

"I don't see why not. Is Alya going too?"

"Yes Mada- I mean, Sabine," Alya corrected.

"Well, I'm okay with it. What time will you be home?" Sabine started to wipe the counter with a wet rag.

"Um, it says on the note that it will end anywhere from 1:00to4:00am." Marinette sped through the last part of the sentence.

"Did you say 1:00 to 4:00?!" Sabine almost yelled. She hated yelling, especially in public.

"Um, yes? But I promise that I'll be back by midnight, I probably couldn't even stay up later than that." Marinette assured.

"Okay." Sabine still sounded unsure, but she agreed. She knew her daughter was responsible enough.

"Thanks mom!" Marinette hugged her mother and ran up the stairs. Alya waved and followed Marinette up.

"What are you going to wear?" Alya asked when she got through the trapdoor.

"I have," Marinette paused looking through her clothes. "No idea."

 

* * *

 

 

"What about this one?" Marinette came out of the bathroom. She had already tried on four different outfits and Alya said no to all of them. This time she was wearing a short pink dress with a pale yellow cardigan. Last time she had black shorts with a white long sleeved shirt and and a pink scarf. The time before that was a simple red spotted dress. The first one was a blue, high waisted skirt and a black dress shirt.

"No," Alya looked back at her phone. She was wearing a black skirt, a purple shirt, and a grey beanie.

"Why not? I thought this one was cute." Marinette complained.

"It is, it's just not a party outfit. Everyone is going to be in gold, so if we're in black, then we will stand out," Alya explained.

"Ugh, fine. I'll try and find something black." Marinette looked through her closet but was only able to find one.

"What about this one?" Marinette was wearing a Chat inspired outfit. It was a dark green tank top with a leather jacket over it. She had a short black skirt on. Her hair was up in a messy bun. Alya gasped.

"It's perfect." Alya stood and admired her outfit. Marinette looked at the clock.

"It's about to start, we should get going." Marinette grabbed her purse and headed down the stairs. "Mom! We're leaving!" Marinette yelled.

"Okay! Have fun!" Sabine yelled back.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your mom?" Alya asked as they stepped outside.

"You didn't have to, my mom is great and I know it." Marinette bragged. Alya just laughed in response as they made their way to Le Grand Paris. They kept walking in silence before they got to the doors leading into the hotel.

"Are you ready?" Alya asked putting her hand on the door, about to push it open.

"No. What if she is going to prank us? What if-" Marinette was cut of by Alya.

"I'm opening the door now," Alya said, before pushing the door open. The second the door opened, loud music flooded their ears. They walked into the dim room. They could see a lot of their friends.

"You guys came!" Sabrina yelled excitedly. She was wearing a simple golden dress.

"Thanks for inviting us!" Alya yelled back. They could hear some yelling they couldn't understand and Sabrina turned to yell back at them.

"Sorry guys, I have to go, but if you need anything I can help! Later!" Sabrina ran off in the direction of the music.

"What are you two doing here?!" Chloe's voice rang out behind them.

"Sabrina invited us!" Marinette yelled back.

"Ugh! Fine, you can stay, but if you guys try to upstage me then I'm kicking you out!" Chloe stomped off.

"That was the nicest she's ever been to me!" Marinette yelled to Alya. The music stopped and Nino's voice took its place.

"How's everyone doing tonight?!" Nino yelled out. Everyone cheered in response. Nino continued to talk.

"I forgot Nino was DJing!" Alya yelled.

"Me too!" Marinette responded. "I wonder how Adrien is doing."

 

* * *

 

Adrien groaned as he walked into his desolate house. He was exhausted and wanted to collapse right there on the floor. As he neared his room something white flew in front of his face. It took a second for Adrien to realize but when he did his breathing became erratic. It was an akuma. It started to fly away and Adrien followed. Adrien walked through the massive house. The white butterfly flew through the massive halls. It eventually flew into a room Adrien didn't recognize. The butterfly flew through the slightly opened door. Adrien looked through the crack and saw his father standing there talking to something.

"Nooroo, dark wings rise!" Gabriel exclaimed. Adrien's eyes widened. Something purple flew into the brooch. Butterflies swarmed the man in front of him. When they dispersed, the one and only Hawkmoth was stood where his father just was. Adrien pushed open the door and slowly walked in. The floor under Adrien creaked, alerting Hawkmoth of his presence. Hawkmoth turned to face the boy.

"Adrien, what are you doing in here?!" Gabriel asked furiously.

"F-father?"


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien stared as his father released his transformation.

"Adrien it's not what you-" Gabriel started.

"It's not what I think? Father, you're Hawkmoth, the one who has been terrorizing Paris! The one who's been fighting me and Ladyb-" Adrien stopped breathing. He just accidentally revealed his identity, to Hawkmoth no less. Gabriel stared at his son. Adrien ran through the door. He ran through the halls. He was about to burst through the door leading to the outside when he felt a hand grab his wrist.

"Let me go!" Adrien screamed hitting the hand keeping him from leaving.

"Adrien, I need to talk with you." His father replied calmly pulling Adrien back up he stairs. Adrien resisted but his father was much stronger than he was. His father got him up the steps and pulled Adrien into his room. Gabriel locked the door behind him.

"Let me out." Adrien muttered.

"What?" Gabriel asked, not hearing him properly.

"I said let me out!" Adrien yelled.

"I need to explain!" Gabriel shouted back.

"Yeah, you do! Why would you do this?! What possible reason could make you do something so diabolical?! I can't think of one thing that would make you do-"

"It's to get your mother back!" Gabriel interrupted Adrien's rant.

"What?" Adrien's voice was barely over a whisper. Gabriel sighed and sat down on Adrien's bed.

"If you combine the powers of the black cat ring and the ladybug earrings then you obtain godlike powers. If I get them both, I can bring your mother back." Adrien just watched as Gabriel explained how it worked. Gabriel finally finished explaining and Adrien could only stare.

"I-I need a moment alone." Adrien ran into his bathroom. Plagg flew out of jacket.

"Kid, I'm so sorry." Plagg said, comfortingly settling in Adrien's neck.

"Pl-Plagg," Tears spilled from Adrien's eyes. "What d-do I do?" Adrien started sobbing. Plagg didn't know what to do. He loved Adrien, and seeing him like this made Plagg depressed. He swore to himself not to get attached. He wouldn't let another holder do this to him. He couldn't let this one turn out like the others. All Chat Noir's have to suffer tragedies and they die unsatisfactory deaths, it's their curse and it always has been.

The first was Asim. He was a seventeen year old boy sold into slavery by his parents. His Ladybug, Akilah, was his mistress. They fell in love over time but when they were found out, Akilah was locked up and Asim was beheaded.

The next was Bartholomew. He was only twelve when his tragedy struck. His parents were killed in a fire and his face got burned very badly. A year later, he was given the miraculous only to die protecting his Ladybug in a fire, the same way his parents went.

Then came Jasper. His brother was killed in front of him, and when he got his miraculous he killed the man responsible. He was able to get revenge, but he died in the process. He and his Ladybug never met.

And just before Adrien was Felix. He was just like Adrien. His mother died when he was young and his father became cold. As soon as he got the miraculous he wanted it off. He died in a freak car accident.

Now it's Adrien. His mother went missing and he just found out his father his Hawkmoth.

Plagg hated this. He hated having to watch so many horrible things happen to people he cared about. He hated Tikki, Wayzz, Trixx, all kwami. They didn't know how it felt. Sure, they all had tragedies in the past, but Plagg suffered tragedies every time. He didn't want the other kwami to suffer like he has, but it still isn't fair. He shouldn't have to go through this. His _holders_ shouldn't have to go through this. He couldn't let it happen again. Adrien would be different.

_'Just like Jasper was? Or maybe Felix?'_ Plaggs mind supplied.

"Hey, it's okay kid," Plagg comforted. "What do you want to do? Do you want to help Ladybug or your dad? Whoever you pick, I'll help." It was true. Plagg wanted Adrien to be different. He didn't care who he was siding with, he just wanted Adrien to be happy.

"R-really?" Adrien asked, voice still quivering.

"Of course Adrien. No matter who you decide to help, I'll be with you." Plagg patted Adrien's cheek comfortingly. Adrien let out a small laugh. Adrien was about to walk out when he froze.

"Plagg, I'm scared." Plagg looked at the boy in front of him. Adrien's hand hovered over the handle to pull open the door leading to his large room.

"It's going to be okay." Plagg gave Adrien a reassuring look. Adrien smiled and opened the door. Gabriel stared at his son expectantly.

"Okay father." Adrien met his fathers eyes. "How do I help?"

 

* * *

 

"I still can't believe she didn't do anything." Marinette spoke into her phone.

"I'm proud of her for not doing anything to us." Alya replied.

"Maybe she's still plotting something."

"Mari, the party was yesterday, what could she do now?" Alya asked. Tikki flew in front of Marinettes face, holding a clock. Marinette was confused until she realized what time it was.

"Oh crap! Sorry Alya, I gotta go but we're hanging out tomorrow right?" Marinette asked throwing herself out of bed.

"Yeah, later girl." Alya said.

"Later," Marinette hung up the phone. "Tikki, spots on!" A pink light surrounded the young girl and she swiftly jumped out of the window. She landed at her and Chat's usual meeting spot. The roof was empty.

_'Chat is never late, where is he?'_  Ladybug thought. As she was about to start without him she was interrupted.

"Hi Ladybug," Chats voice sounded softly from behind her.

"Why the formalities?" That was one of the only times Chat hadn't called her by a nickname, and his added quietness was sort of alarming.

"I," Chat paused, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry." was all he said before swinging his baton at her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Chat what-" Ladybug was cut off by Chat's baton hitting her in the stomach. She felt like she was being stabbed right under her ribs. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. She looked up expecting to see Chats eyes filled rage or hatred but his eyes held no hate, he looked more distressed than anything. He swung again but she was ready this time, she narrowly dodged his attack.

"I'm sorry." He repeated before swinging again. Ladybug pulled out her yoyo and swung it at Chats baton, trying to pull it out of his hands.

"Chat, why are you doing this?!" Ladybug yelled, evading his attacks.

"I can't tell you!" Chat yelled back, his voice filled with sadness. Chat kept swinging his baton but it was reckless, uncalculated. None of his attacks could do any real damage.

"Please stop and tell me what's wrong!" Ladybug screamed. She caught his baton with her yoyo, impairing his ability to swing at her. His eyes met hers and she could see tears forming in the green. Chat pulled his baton away from her but instead of hitting her again he ran to the edge of the roof and vaulted away. Ladybug was breathing heavily. Tikki had some explaining to do. Ladybug used her yoyo to get herself home. When she got inside, she released her transformation.

"Tikki, what just happened?" Marinette asked her kwami, almost in tears.

"I-I don't know." Tikki responded, looking just as sad.

"W-what do I do?" Marinette asked with a cracking voice. Her tears now flowed freely. Tikki rested her small hand on Marinette's cheek.

"I have a idea."

 

* * *

 

Adrien landed in his room, breathing heavily. Plagg flew out of his ring and flew onto Adrien's shoulder. Adrien let his sobs ring out through the room. Plagg didn't want this to happen. He should have just told Adrien to tell the police or Ladybug about his father but he didn't.

"Hey kid, it's going to be okay. Talk to your dad, he might have an idea on what to do. It's gonna be okay kid, I promise." Plagg spoke softly into Adrien's ear. Adrien could only nod. Adrien stood up and slowly made his way towards his fathers study. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Marinette slowly walked through the halls of the large school. After school she was going to talk to the "Great Guardian" about what happened last night.

"Hey girl! What's got you so down in the dumps?" Alya asked when she caught up to her friend.

"Oh, um, nothing." Marinette lied.

"Yeah right. Seriously though, what's wrong?" Alya asked sincerely. Marinette stared at her for a second before looking back at the ground.

"Class is about to start, I can't right now." Marinette sat down at her seat, Alya sitting down next to her.

"One, since when do you care about when class starts? You're always late. Two, you have to tell me when I come over later." Alya negotiated.

"Oka-wait that's today!" Marinette realized.

"Did you forget I'm sleeping at your house tonight?" Alya asked.

"It sorta slipped my mind sorry. Um, I have something to do after school that's really important, but you can't come." Marinette said. Alya just raised an eyebrow.

"Can you tell me what is is?"

"Nope!" Marinette said, popping the "p".

"You're so weird," Alya rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "It's cool though, my parents are going to be gone for about an hour after school so I have to take care of my sisters. Call me when I can come over."

"Will do." Marinette said right as class started.

 

* * *

 

"Did you girls see Adrien today? I haven't seen him since the day of the party." Nino asked, running up to the girls.

"No, I thought maybe he was helping his dad." Alya supplied.

"Two days in a row?" Nino questioned.

"Maybe he's sick?" Marinette offered.

"Maybe," Nino said, still unsure. "Do you think I should go check on him?"

"If it will put you at ease." Alya said. Both girls waved and started walking off. Marinette was about to walk towards her house when Alya interrupted. "Mari, don't you have to do something?" Marinette snapped.

"Oh yeah! I knew I was forgetting something but I couldn't remember." Alya only giggled at her friends antics. They bade their adieus and started on their journeys.

 

* * *

 

Marinette was stood outside of the same place where she brought Tikki to be healed a while back.

"Is this the right spot?" Marinette asked the sprite inside her bag.

"Yeah." Tikki responded. Marinette pushed the door open.

"How can I help you?" An old man asked.

"Um, I'm looking for the Great Guardian." Marinette replied to the familiar man.

"That's me," the Great Guardian walked over to the young girl slowly. "What can I do for you, Ladybug?"

"How did you-" Marinette started.

"He's the one who gave you your miraculous, Marinette." Tikki said, flying out of her purse.

"So, Ladybug, what can I help you with?" The Great Guardian asked again.

"Um, Chat Noir did something weird last night," Marinette started explaining what happened. "So, what should I do, Great Guardian?" Marinette questioned after she finished explaining.

"Well first of all, call me Fu. Secondly," Fu stood up and walked over to a phonograph. He pressed the eyes of a dragon symbol and it revealed ten buttons. He pushed four of the buttons and the phonograph spun. The top opened and a black and red chest, similar to the one she got her miraculous in, spiraled out of the phonograph. He retrieved a necklace and what looked like a comb, from the chest. "These are miraculous, much like your own except these are less powerful. Chat Noir has turned to Hawkmoth's side so you will need help. You need to choose two wielders for the bee and fox miraculous. The sooner the better because I'm sure that Hawkmoth has a plan of his own." Fu handed the jewelry to the young girl and she carefully accepted them.

"Who," she paused, looking for the right words to say. "Who do I give them to?"

"Someone who is worthy." Fu responded easily.

"But...why did I get one? I wasn't and I'm still not worthy of such power."

"Of course you are. You might not have been when you started but neither was I. I was a reckless kid, always causing trouble." Fu laughed fondly before continuing. "When I got my miraculous I was confused because such a free spirit like me wasn't supposed to be a turtle. Turtles are boring and old. I was told that the miraculous was supposed to change me, and it did. It changed you too. If you give it to someone who already represents the animal then they won't gain anything."

"So what do they represent?" The bluenette asked.

"Well the fox represents deception. Volpina, the akumatized villain, was a version of her. The bee represents unity, working together," Fu explained. "Do you have any ideas on who they should go to?" Marinette thought for a second before answering.

"I think so."

 

* * *

 

"What are you doing here?!" Alya asked the blonde at the door.

"Did Ladybug invite you here too?!" Chloe yelled back.

"Oh good, you both made it." An old man opened the door and invited them in. They walked a little farther before reaching a small room.

"Where are we?" Alya asked, looking around the room. Chloe stood there silently. The old man left the room, leaving the girls alone. A few seconds later, Ladybug walked into the room.

"Ladybug!" Both girls squealed in excitement.

"Wait, where's Mari?" Alya asked, concerned about her friend.

"I need to speak with both of you," the heroine pointed to some chairs in the corner of the room. The girls sat in them silently. "You can't tell anyone about this. Last night, I was on patrol and Chat...attacked me. I'm pretty sure he's working with Hawkmoth now and I need help," Ladybug revealed a necklace and a comb. "These are miraculous, you two are going to be on my team against Chat and Hawkmoth." Alya and Chloe gasped. "And, I'm going to reveal myself to both of you." Ladybug stood and looked at the ground. Both girls watched in awe as pink light filled the room.

"Marinette?!" Both girls screamed. Marinette stared at the ground sheepishly.

"I can't believe my best friend is Ladybug!" Alya yelled.

"I can't believe Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug!" Chloe remarked.

"Listen, now isn't the time to talk about this. As I said earlier, Chat attacked me and he's working with Hawkmoth. If we want to beat him, we have to work together. These are miraculous, they give us our suits and powers," Marinette held out the necklace and comb for Alya and Chloe to grab. "You will get a kwami. We can meet at my house every other day or if you are busy we can reschedule but we need to talk about what we're going to do about Chat." Alya and Chloe hesitantly grabbed the jewelry from Marinette.

"Why us?" Alya questioned, examining the necklace.

"Because I know you can do it," Marinette turned to Chloe. "This might be kind of hard for you but, I'm going to need you to listen to me. If you don't then people could get hurt." Chloe nodded.

"What about Chat Noir? What happens when we find him? Do we attack or wait for you to tell us what to do?" Chloe sounded sort of scared.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt, especially not Chat. If you find him on patrol and I'm not there then alert me but if you can't," Marinette stopped talking to try and not cry. "Then confront him. If he attacks you," Tears started flowing from her eyes. "Don't hold back." Was all she was able to get out before she fell to the ground and started sobbing. Alya and Chloe exchanged looks before kneeling down next to the bluenette to comfort her.

"It's going to be okay," Alya pat her best friend on the back. "We're going to help him. I promise."

"Do you want to come to my hotel? We could plan there." Chloe offered.

"W-what if he doesn't want to help us? What if h-he chose to work with Hawkmoth because he hates me? What i-if-" Marinette stuttered.

"Hey, I'm sure he didn't want to hurt you." Chloe reassured her but it did little to calm her down.

"If you had been there then you would be saying that." Marinette said after she had calmed down a little.

"What makes you say that?" Alya rubbed her back some more.

"He," Marinette took some deep breaths to prevent tears for falling again. "He hit me in the stomach so hard there's a bruise." She lifted her shirt and sure enough, a large purple mark was there. Alya and Chloe audibly gasped. Alya only stared whereas Chloe traced the bruise softly with the tips of her fingers.

"He did this?" Chloe asked quietly. Marinette only nodded.

"W-why?" Alya reached out and touched it but retracted as though she had been burned.

"I d-don't know he didn't tell me." Marinette answered.

"I don't believe it. He can't have done this!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Believe it. He did." Marinette said, poison lacing her voice.

"But he loves you!" Chloe reasoned.

"Apparently not enough." Marinette tried to sound angry but she was more sad than anything.

"No, he loves you with all his heart! There's no way he would have done this without being mind controlled or something-" Chloe sounded almost desperate.

"Chloe! He doesn't care! He wasn't mind controlled! He doesn't love me! He did it on his own free will! Let it go! Please." Tears started to fall from her eyes again. Alya gave Chloe a look that said 'Leave it'. Chloe gave in.

"Okay, how can we help?"


	4. Chapter 4

A loud crash filled the store.

"Hello? Who's there?" Master Fu walked carefully through his shop.

"Master, what's going on?" Wayzz asked, quite tired.

"I don't know, stay close," They walked through the shop together. "Ladybug? Is that you?" A black hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed Fu's wrist.

"Close, but not quite." Chat Noir said.

"Chat Noir, what are you doing here? What happened between you and Ladybug?" Chat visibly tensed at the question.

"She told you?" Chat asked. Fu tried to free his wrist from the blonde's hand but he wasn't strong enough.

"Yes she did, now please let me go." The phrase itself sounded like a plea but the way he said it, it sounded more like a warning.

"I can't do that, I'm sorry." Chat apologized.

"It's okay, I understand." He replied before moving his arm in a way that it threw Chat to the ground. Chat made a noise of surprise and groaned when he hit the floor.

"What the...? How did...? Ugh, whatever," Chat jumped up and raised his fists. "I'm impressed, I figured you were too old to fight back." Fu raised his hands the same way as Chat.

"I thought you were too weak to recover so quickly." Fu smirked and Chat put his hands down.

"Wow, that wasn't necessary." He raised his fists again.

"Neither was you attacking me or Ladybug yet here we are." Fu grinned and Chat scowled slightly. Chat rushed forward and their fists slammed together. They fought for a little while before Chat broke away.

"One, you're extremely strong, especially for a man your age. How old are you exactly?" Chat's breathing was heavy.

"I'm about 186." Fu answered, also out of breath.

"About? You don't even know?"

"Well I stopped counting after a while."

"Fair enough," Chat replied coolly. "Two, you have no right to talk about Ladybug." His words were laced with ice as he charged forward, catching Fu off guard. He put his baton securely on Fu's chest, trapping him in place.

"I have no right? I think that you have the least right out of everyone, being the one who gave her a giant bruise." Fu explained and Chat's grip was loosened. Fu used this to flip Chat over his head, slamming him to the ground for the second time. Chat groaned but made no effort to get up.

"What do you mean?" Chat questioned from the ground.

"About the bruise?" Fu asked.

"Yeah, I didn't give her a bruise, right?" Chat looked genuinely concerned, not like someone who wanted to hurt her like she had said.

"You did," Chat looked like he was about to cry. "She showed me earlier. It looked really bad." He started.

"Please stop." Chat whispered from the ground.

"Why? Can't handle your bad ideas, kitty? Well guess what, she knows that you wanted to do it. She knows that you didn't care about if it hurt her." Fu taunted.

"That's not true, I do care." Chat said, this time slightly louder.

"Really because that's not what it sounded like. It sounds like you hate her."

"Stop it." Chat's voice was more powerful now.

"Why? Can't bear the fact that 'your lady' hates you?" Chat had enough of this. He jumped up and extended his baton making it hit Fu in the stomach so he hit the wall and the baton kept him trapped there.

"I said stop it!" Chat yelled, voice filled with rage. Instead of looking scared or hurt like he should have, Fu looked more proud than anything.

"I knew it was in you." The old man said proudly.

"What?" Chat was breathing heavily.

"She didn't actually say any of that, and I know that you don't hate her. And I'm pretty sure she knows it too. I just said all of that because it looked like you were giving up, and I couldn't have that. Did Hawkmoth send you here?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Chat had calmed down considerably.

"Because you would have no idea who I was otherwise. So, how's good old Gabriel doing?" Fu asked calmly from behind Chat's extended baton.

"H-how did you know that?" Chat asked.

"I know who all of the holders are."

"So why didn't you do anything about it? Why did you give the ring to me if you knew he was my father? Why did you let him continue and didn't call the police? Why-?" Chat questioned, tears threatening to spill.

"Calm down, Adrien. I didn't do anything because I wanted that choice to be up to you. He is, after all, your only family left." Chat looked down sadly and let a single tear slip. He wiped it away and quickly regained his composure.

"Does Ladybug really have a bruise?" Chat asked genuinely worried for his partner, or, old partner. He can't really call her his partner anymore. Fu nodded sadly and Chat looked down, disappointed in himself. He shook it off and walked over to the phonograph his father explained to him.

"Do you want to know how to open it?" Fu offered.

"Yeah, how?" Chat gave him a cautious look.

"Okay, let me go and I'll open it for you." He negotiated.

"No way, I'm not that dumb." Chat refused.

"I know, you're very clever." Fu started explaining how to open it. Chat followed along and did as he said.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because I know how persistent you are," The old man answered as the box opened, but, it was empty. Chat turned to the man expectantly. "What, did you expect me to give you the miraculous?"

"That was sorta the deal, yeah." Chat replied.

"No, I said I would help you open it, not get what was inside. Though, you can take my miraculous." Fu held out his wrist which had a jade turtle shell on it. Chat cautiously reached out to grab the jewelry. He yanked it and the leather that tied it to Fu's wrist broke.

"Master, what are you doing?" A green kwami flew out from behind the man.

"Wayzz, I'm one hundred and eighty whatever years old. Even if I didn't give him the miraculous I would die soon anyways. I'm just helping a boy and his father, and, now you can check on how Nooroo is holding up." Wayzz still looked unsure but he slowly flew over to the bracelet and disappeared inside.

"Why did you...?" Chat didn't finish his question.

"As I told Wayzz, I'm dying anyways," Chat un-extended his baton so the old man was released. Chat started walking out of the store. "Wait, Chat Noir," Chat stopped and turned to the man. "As my last wish, give it to someone who will fit it."

"Um, okay. Like someone who's super careful?"

"No, someone who's extremely childish and won't grow up. Someone like me." Fu smiled and fell to the ground. Chat ran over to pick up the man.

"Wait, wake up, oh my god, oh my god, shi-" Chat started freaking out.

"What are you still doing here? Leave, give it to someone who won't ever grow up no matter how old they are, oh, and call the police, I think I'm dying." Fu cut him off.

"No way! I'm not leaving you here! I'm taking you to the hospital." Chat tried to pull Fu up but the old man punched him in the stomach.

"Don't. I'll be fine, I die like every week, now go." Fu pushed him up and laid back down. Chat cautiously jogged out the door and used his baton to call an ambulance for Fu. As he jumped across the buildings he could hear the sirens and he hoped that they got there in time. He jumped across a few more houses before he finally got home. He jumped through one of the large windows of his bedroom. He released his transformation and started walking to his fathers study.

"Oh, Adrien, you're back. How did it go?" His father asked. It's sad that his father only stops working to talk now that he's helping him.

"I did what you said but the case was empty. I did, however, get this." Adrien raised the bracelet up for his father to see.

"The turtle miraculous. How did you get this?" Gabriel examined the jewelry closely.

"He gave it to me." Adrien answered. Gabriel looked at him in disbelief.

"He just, handed it over?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah," Adrien took it from his fathers hands. "He told me to give it to someone 'like him'." Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He said someone who's childish and won't grow up. I think that I know who to give it to." Adrien smiled fondly at the thought of his best friend.

"Well, lucky for us we already have another miraculous." Gabriel walked over to the large painting of his mother and pulled it open. He turned the dial and it opened. He grabbed out a brooch that looked like the feathers of a peacock before closing the safe once again.

"That's a miraculous?" Adrien pointed to the blue pin in his fathers hand.

"Yes it is. If Ladybug is going to side with other heroes then we should too. Give it to someone deserving or whatever." Gabriel practically shoved it at Adrien.

"Are you not going to come with me?" Adrien examined the blue brooch.

"No, I'm very busy. Don't mess it up." Gabriel shoved Adrien out the door and shut it after he was out. Adrien huffed and stomped to his room. He got inside and slammed the door. He slid down the wood.

"You okay?" Plagg had asked that a lot over the past few weeks.

"Not really. I just," He took a breath to calm himself down. "I thought that because we started working together, he would care and talk to me for long periods of time but he still doesn't. He still ignores me and expects me to do everything on my own." Adrien buried his face in his knees. "I just want my dad." Plagg laid on Adrien's shoulder comfortingly. A few tears spilled out Adrien's emerald eyes. Three figures flew past his window, one red, one orange, and one yellow.

"What was that?" Plagg asked and Adrien looked out the window.

"I don't know." Adrien admitted. He stood up and walked over to his tv. He tuned it on and a familiar face was on the screen.

"Ladybug! Who are these new heroes?" A reporter asked, shoving his microphone into her face.

"This is Volpina and Queen Bee, they will be assisting me." Ladybug answered. Adrien watched her with guilt covering his face. She was holding her hand over her stomach and she looked sick.

_'Oh no, what if I accidentally did something internal? What if I caused more damage than just a bruise? I hit her much harder than I meant to so what if she's bleeding internally?'_ Adrien though to himself as his breathing became erratic. Plagg seemed to have realized what Adrien was thinking.

"Hey, it's okay." He comforted. Adrien nodded and tried to control his breathing.

"Why do you need these new heroes? Weren't you and Chat Noir a good enough team?" Another reporter asked. Ladybug looked down sadly. The two unfamiliar heroes behind her comforted her. One of the girls a bright blonde hair and shining blue eyes. She had a simple yellow and black striped suit on and she had a golden comb in her ponytail. The other girl had brown, red, and white hair. She had the same outfit as Volpina, the akuma. Ladybug turned back to the reporters.

"We have reason to believe that Chat Noir is," Ladybug paused for a second and cleared her throat. "We think Chat Noir is working with Hawkmoth." The reporters gasped. "We aren't sure but we think that that's the situation. If anyone sees Chat or anyone who is not us, avoid confrontation. He doesn't want to hurt civilians, just me." Ladybug wiped her eyes but made no effort to continue talking. Volpina patted her on the back and they walked away from the reporters but Queen Bee stayed.

"As Ladybug said, if you see anyone who looks like a superhero and is not us three then don't talk to them and especially don't confront them. We will be posting numbers around the city and on the Ladyblog to contact us if you run into Chat." Queen Bee smiled dryly and started walking away but the reporters stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"What was wrong with Ladybug? She looked sick." The reporters shoved microphones in her face but she shoved them away and tried to fly away but she was stopped again. "Queen Bee, did Chat make Ladybug sick? What happened?"

"That's private information." She started to look annoyed.

"So that's a yes? Queen Bee, what will Chat Noir do next?" They barraged her with questions.

"We're not answering any more questions today, goodbye." She tugged her wrist away from the woman who had grabbed it and flew in the direction that Volpina and Ladybug had left then the camera shut off. Adrien watched his tv silently. Instead of his face being one of sadness like it had been the past few days, it was now completely neutral.

"Kid? Are you okay?" Plagg asked but instead of getting an answer, Adrien stood up quickly, still emotionless, and grabbed the turtle and peacock miraculous and walked toward the open window.

"Plagg, claws out." Adrien's voice sounded almost...angry.

"Adrien, this isn't a good idea. We should wait until you're yourself again." Plagg pleaded.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien yelled. Plagg slowly flew over and disappeared into his ring. Green electricity surrounded the boy and he jumped out his open window. It was already dark outside so he blended with the sky. He jumped across several buildings before reaching his destination. He didn't even knock on the window, he just pried it open. The boy inside looked up from his desk surprised.

"Chat Noir, what are you doing here? What happened with Ladybug?" Nathanael questioned. Chat said nothing and started walking towards the redhead. Nathanael stood up from his desk and started backing away. He backed away as much as he could but he soon slammed into the wall. Chat kept walking. He finally stopped when they were close enough. Instead of attacking him, he handed him a small pin. Nathanael slowly took it out of his hand and started looking at it.

"You're going to help me, come on." Chat ordered.

"What?" Nathanael stayed in place. Chat groaned and turned to the other boy.

"Listen, I need help with something really important. Are you willing to help?" Chat gestured towards the pin in his hand. Nathanael looked down at it.

"What...what would I be doing?" Nathanael asked, very unsure. Chat sighed.

"You would help me...fight Ladybug," Nathanael gasped. "I know that it's a lot to ask and that it's going to suck but it's for a good cause. Please."

"W-what's the cause?" Nathanael questioned cautiously.

"I," Chat sighed. "It's a really long story that I don't really have time to answer right now. Are you in or not?"

"What if I want out?" Chat made a noise of confusion.

"'Want out'? What does that mean?" Chat asked.

"If I want to, can I leave?"

"I-I'd guess, but you wouldn't be able to tell anyone what we'd be doing, who we were or tell us where we meet." Chat agreed. Nathanael pondered for a second before metting Chat's eyes with a determined look.

"I'll do it," The redhead decided.

"Are you sure?" Chat's mood changed slightly before returning to his stoic expression.

"Yes, I can tell that whatever the cause is, it's really important to you. I would do whatever it took to get my sister back, so I'm sure it's a family thing," He looked down before meeting Chat's eyes. "I want to help you."

"Okay, we don't have time for you to meet your kwami and transform and all that so just get on my back." Chat turned so Nathanael could get on. The redhead wrapped his arms around Chat Noir's neck and Chat jumped out of the window. They made it to their destination quickly. Chat opened the unlocked window and stepped inside. Nino walked into the room and almost dropped his phone when he saw them.

"Oh my god! C-Chat Noir? Nathanael? What are you guys doing here?" Nino took his headphones off and threw his phone onto his bed.

"We're here because we need your help." Chat answered. Nathanael unwrapped his arms from Chat's neck.

"Doing what?" Nino cautiously walked closer to the two boys.

"Fighting Ladybug." Chat answered guiltily. Nino gasped slightly.

"I...I don't..." Nino looked down.

"Listen, I need your help. If you're going to help me I need to know now." Chat sneered. Nino's head shot up.

"I'm not...I..." For one of the first times, Adrien's best friend was at a complete loss for words.

"Please." Chat whispered. Nino sighed and walked over to the teens. He nodded softly. The trio made their way to the Agreste mansion. Chat opened one of his windows are jumped inside, holding his two classmates.

"Woah, Chat Noir, why are we at Adrien's place?" Nino jumped out of Chat's hold and backed away. Chat started walking out of the room and released his transformation. Nino and Nathanael gasped.

"No time to gape, come on, we have to plan." Adrien swiftly left his room and Nino and Nathanael followed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure you don't want us to come?" Chloe asked. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I'm positive. You need time to learn the ropes before jumping straight into being a superhero. Besides, you need to spend time with your kwamis, find out what they like and what they don't." Chloe and Alya glanced at the sleeping sprites on the table in front of them. "And they need rest. Tikki and Chat Noir's kwami are the most powerful so they didn't need to sleep when they first came out." Marinette offered.

"Wait, but weren't they sleeping in the miraculous? Why would they need to sleep if they were asleep for however many years? And if they're tired then why were we able to transform as soon as they came out?" Chloe put her head on the table next to Bijj, her new kwami.

"They weren't actually asleep, they were dormant," Tikki started. "It takes up less energy than being out of the miraculous but it's still pretty draining," Chloe and Alya stared blankly at Tikki and she sighed. "It was like a phone not being plugged in but also not being used. As for the fact that you transformed when they came out, they were running on a sort of adrenaline rush."

"Two things, one, when will they be ready to transform again? Two, what's all of the kwami's names?" Alya looked at Tikki expectantly.

"Well they've been 'unplugged' for at least thirty years so it will take a while for them to 'charge'. As for their names, there's a lot of us but the ones that I've worked with most are Dijj, Trixx, Wayzz, Nooroo, Duusu and..." Tikki trailed off.

"And?"

"And Plagg...Chat Noir's kwami." Tikki muttered. They all looked down sadly.

"Did you two know each other? Like, were you two best friends?" Chloe picked her head up off the table.

"We were the best of friends and partners. I loved him," Tikki smiled at the thought of him but it quickly faded. "Though, I don't know how much he loved me."

"What? Why?" Marinette spoke.

"Well, he dwells in the past and his past isn't the best. All of his holders have bad luck, I'd guess it's because of the fact that he's a black cat. He hates when we get new holders, not because he hates them, but because he doesn't. He always tells himself that he won't get attached but he always does. It always leads to heartbreak. He thinks that we don't know or don't care, but we do-" Tikki explained, tears forming in her eyes.

"What happened to his holders?" Chloe interrupted.

"Well he can only see the bad in anything and everything so not all of his holders have had that bad of lives but he sees it that way. Though, some terrible things have happened to him but bad things happen to all of us." Tikki sat down next to Trixx. "For example, one of my earlier holders, Akilah, was locked up after her relationship with Asim was discovered, no idea what happened to him though. And Bijj had a girl named Christina who gave everything for her team, including her life. She died protecting Ladybug. And poor Trixx here, she used to be a good soul that always told the truth but she was lied to one too many times. Most of her holders betrayed ones that trusted or loved them. That's why Trixx and Plagg get along so well, they both have had horrible experiences with holders but they don't open up to anyone but each other." Tikki finished and the three teens stared at her, horrified.

"It never really occurred to me that you've had holders die. I mean, it was obvious because you told me about how old you are but it never really sank in until just now." Tears gathered in Marinette's eyes. Tikki let out a small smile.

"Well, now is no time to be sad. Marinette, shouldn't we get going?" Tikki sat on Marinette's shoulder. Marinette nodded.

"Tikki, spots on!" Pink light surrounded the girl.

"No matter how many times I see it, it will always astound me." Chloe stared in awe at the bluenette and Alya nodded.

"Okay, I should go. I'm probably not going to come back tonight, I'm already tired enough as it is." They bade their adieus and Ladybug made her way around the city. There was no sign of Chat Noir or anyone he was working with so Ladybug was about to head back to her house but something, or someone, caught her eye. There was something shiny and black on the roof a nearby building. It was a familiar costume to the hero. He was kind of hard to see because of his black costume but it was definitely him. Chat Noir was here.

 

 

* * *

 

He'd only suggested a patrol because he wanted to see Ladybug again, though, not for his usual reasons. So many people have wormed their way into his heart and the same thing always happens, they are taken away from or abandon him. First his mother, she was taken from him way too soon. Then his father, he was never a perfect father but he had basically become a statue after Adrien's mother died. And now his lady. She could have done something other than find new heroes to replace him. He looked around for any signs of the hero but there were none that he could see. He almost started heading back home when he heard someone land behind him. It was such a familiar sound that he knew who it had to be.

"Ladybug, what brings you here?" Chat turned around with an almost evil smile. She had a serious look on her face and already had her yoyo in hand just in case he tried anything.

"You know damn well what brings me here, Chat Noir." If looks could kill he would already be six feet under.

"And I'm sure you know know why I'm here." Chat responded, his smile not fading.

"To finish what you started?" She placed a hand on where he hit her causing him to scowl. A silence overcame them, both too silently afraid to make a move.

"Does it hurt?" Chat broke the silence and gestured to her abdomen.

"Of course it fucking hurts." Ladybug took a single step towards him. Chat grit his teeth.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.

"For what? Hurting me? Well guess what, sweetheart, life isn't all goddamn sunshine and rainbows. Suck it up and get over it." She voice held nothing but poison.

"I know better than anyone that it's not 'sunshine and rainbows'." Chat said quietly and started slowly reaching for his baton.

"He says to girl who can barely get out of her bed."

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay?" His voice wasn't soft anymore.

"Why should I believe you?! You gave me a bruise the size of China!" She quickly took a step forward and winced slightly. It took everything in him to not take another step forward and do something he might regret.

"Stop it." He wanted to scream but it came out as no more than a whisper. His eyes fell onto the ground.

"Why?! Give me one good reason to stop!" She yelled.

"Please." It was slightly louder this time but it still wasn't very loud.

"Can you not handle what you did? Well guess what, that's life! Sometimes you should think before doing things!" She screamed.

_'Not again. Please, God, not again.'_ Chat thought as Ladybug slowly took steps closer to him. He was being confronted again, but this time directly from his old partner.

"Say something, dammit!" She was now so close he could smell the pastries she usually smelled like. It was usually so comforting but now it was nothing but a grim reminder.

_'I messed it up. I'm the reason all of this happened. It's my fault. I shouldn't even be allowed to talk to her. I fucked up bad. I'm the reason all of this happened. This is all my fault. I should've called the police when I could've.'_ Those words bounced around in his head relentlessly which only made him more angry.

"Fucking say something!" Her voice echoed through the sky. Luckily the buildings they were on were abandoned so they didn't wake anyone. Chat kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"I didn't mean to." His voice was the opposite of hers. He would honestly be surprised if she could actually hear him.

"Oh, you 'didn't mean to', well that makes everything better, doesn't it?" Her voice was now at a normal talking volume.

"It's true." Tears pricked his eyes.

"I don't care! It still happened!" She was about to walk away but he grabbed her wrist.

"Let me explain." He reasoned.

"Let me go, now." She grit through her teeth.

"No! Not until I'm done explaining!" Chat yelled.

"I don't want to hear your shitty explanation!" She tugged on her wrist some more but it didn't budge.

"Do you really want us to be enemies?! Do you want me to attack you?!"

"It would be better than me thinking you actually care about me!" Ladybug pulled her wrist from his grasp and he growled.

"Fine, have it your way." He said through his teeth before throwing a punch at her.

 

* * *

 

Ladybug easily dodged his first attack but wasn't as lucky the next few times. He landed several hits, most at her face, some at her stomach. She threw some punches back at him but only managed to hit him twice. He kicked her legs out from under her and ripped her yoyo out of her hand then threw it towards the edge of the building. She stood and he slowly backed her to the edge of the the three story building. She got to the ledge and stood but Chat wouldn't stop advancing.

"C-Chat, you don't ha-ve to do this." She was trying to keep her balance but it was hard.

"Oh, but I thought we were enemies." He bent down to grab her weapon.

"N-no, we don't have to be." She reasoned.

"My Lady," The nickname was usually so kind and welcoming but now it was the equivalent of knives. "Are you regretting a decision? How crazy. I wonder what that feels like." He examined her yoyo quickly. "Let's play fetch," He threw the red and black object off the edge and it clattered to the ground. "Go on, get it." He ordered.

"Chat, let's think this through."

"If you won't get it, I'll make you." Chat said as he pushed her shoulders. Then she was falling.


	6. Chapter 6

Though it wasn't that long of a fall, Ladybug felt like she was falling forever. She could barely get any air in her lungs as she fell.

 _'I pushed him past the breaking point, that was my fault. I shouldn't have said all of those things.'_ She thought as she quickly approached the ground. She heard a sickening crack when her chest hit the cement. She let out a yelp before a sob racked her body. She felt like she couldn't get any air in her lungs. The bluenette tried to sit up but a cough erupted from her chest. She opened her eyes to see blood splattered on the ground. Ladybug touched her mouth and looked at her hand. The crimson liquid could barely be seen against the vibrant red of her suit but it was different enough that she could recognize it as blood. She carefully sat up.

"Oh god, oh god oh god. What do I...? Tikki, spots off." Light filled the darkness around the hero. Tikki flew out of her earrings and gave the teen a worried look.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki flew all around the girl examining her.

"I..." She was about to say that she was fine, but she was far from fine, emotionally and physically. She wiped tears that she didn't even notice came out. "Um, I'm really not. How do I...? What do...? I..." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Is there a way that I can call Alya and Chloe? I left my phone at my house because I didn't think I would need it."

"I don't think so, but I can go tell Chloe and Alya." Tikki offered. Marinette nodded and the red sprite flew away.

 

* * *

 

"Alya! Chloe!" Tikki yelled and both girls' heads turned to the window.

"Tikki? What's wrong? Where's Marinette?" Alya stood and walked over to the kwami.

"She's hurt! You have to transform right now and go help her!" Tikki barely waited for the teens to transform before zooming back out of the open window. Volpina and Queen Bee followed her to a row of abandoned buildings. They heard a cry coming from the street below them and they looked down to see Marinette standing but hunched over, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Marinette! Are you okay? What happened?" Volpina questioned as they landed next to her.

"Chat attacked me again. I'm fine, I just need help getting to my house or the hotel or somewhere because I don't know how well I can move on my own." Marinette replied.

"She's not fine, Chat Noir pushed her off the roof!" Tikki yelled.

"Chat did what?!" Queen Bee screamed.

"It-it's not important right now, just help get me home." Marinette stood straight but immediately hunched over again and released a string of coughs. More blood splattered on the ground and Marinette hoped it went unnoticed but she had no such luck.

"Mari, is that...blood?" Volpina stepped closer but Marinette stepped away.

"Um..." Marinette trailed off.

"Marinette, we need to get you to the hospital, now." Queen Bee grabbed Marinette's arm but she pulled it away.

"No, if I go to the hospital then I won't be able to help you guys get Chat. And if I'm admitted into the hospital what am I supposed to tell the doctors, what am I supposed to tell my parents? I can't go to the hospital." Marinette straightened her back again and almost coughed but managed to keep it under control.

"Marinette, you need medical attention, you could be seriously hurt." Volpina placed a hand on the bluenette's back.

"No, I can't! Not until we save Chat!"

"Okay, okay," Volpina, realizing how truly stubborn her best friend is, decided to reason with her. "What about, as soon as we help Chat, we take you to the hospital. But until then, you stay at home, no school, no hero-ing, no nothing unless it is absolutely vital, got it?" She bargained.

"What? No! She needs to go now!" Queen Bee screamed.

"Bee, she's not going to go until we get Chat! This is the best we can get!" Volpina turned to the stripped superhero. They continued to argue about what they should do before Marinette interrupted them.

"I'll do it," She agreed. "But I can probably only convince my parents to let me stay home for a week, maybe two."

"Okay, let's get you home." Volpina wrapped one arm around her back and the bluenette draped one arm over her shoulders. Bee mirrored the vixens actions on the other side before they made their way to Marinette's house.

 

* * *

 

"Okay, here's some water, and some cookies." Alya set down a large plate full of cookies and three plastic water bottles near the edge of Marinette's bed.

"If you need anything, and I mean anything, call me." Chloe stood on the top stair leading to her bed.

"Guys, I'll be fine, don't worry." Marinette croaked. After the adrenaline of fighting Chat Noir had left, she was in pretty rough shape.

"Mari, you sound like your throat hurts, can I get you some medicine?" Chloe offered, placing a hand over her pocket, probably containing a stack of money.

"No." "Yes." Alya and Marinette said at the same time.

"Mari, you need medicine." Alya said.

"No, I don't. I'm fine, don't get me anything." Marinette slowly sat up.

"Marinette! I'm only okay that you don't go to the hospital if you take care of yourself! Chloe, go get her some medicine." Alya ordered. Chloe nodded before transforming and jumping out of Marinette's open window.

"Alya, I'm fine, honestly." She insisted.

"No you're not, stop saying that. You're not fine." Alya calmly stated. Marinette tried to interject but Alya held a hand up to stop her. "Now, tell me exactly what happened with Chat."

 

* * *

 

Queen Bee leaped across rooftops to get to her fathers hotel. She knew that there was some extremely effective and expensive cough medicine she had used many times. She was almost there when she saw a familiar black cat sitting on the edge of a roof. She slowly and quietly flew over to him while drawing her rapier. She landed mostly silently near him. Without even looking up, he grabbed his baton and extended it so it was almost touching her throat.

"Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on people?" He finally turned towards her with a smile on his face.

"It's also rude to push people off of buildings, yet here we are." Bee remarked causing Chat to frown before a small smile returned. "Why didn't you leave? We found Ladybug only a few streets away. Wanted to stay nearby to be close to the crime scene?"

"No-"

"Do you get some sort of high from being chased or even hurting people?" She smacked his baton away from under her chin.

"No!"

"Then why?! I thought you loved Ladybug!" She raised her rapier.

"I do love her, I just love my father more!" Chat screamed causing Bee to lower her weapon slightly but she raised it again immediately after.

"Y-your father?" She asked carefully.

"Yes, okay?! My father is Hawkmoth! That's why I'm fighting you guys! So fight me! I don't care anymore!" Chat screamed. She backed away slightly but she kept her ground.

"Do you want to fight?" Queen Bee asked after a few moments of silence.

"Do you want to fight me?" Chat returned. She thought it over for a second before launching at him, rapier directed at him.

 

* * *

 

He was able to block her attacks but he couldn't hit her without getting hit by the girl in front of him. She was ruthless yet careful. Graceful yet aggressive. Calm yet hostile. She was an amazing fighter. And that's how she managed to slip past his defense and cut him arm. He let out a yelp but kept his ground. She managed to land another few cuts on him but they were both tiring out quickly. Both of their breaths were ragged, uncontrolled. Though, because he had already been in a fight today, he was running low on stamina. They were pretty evenly matched but Queen Bee was just slightly better. She managed to hit his shoulder with her rapier. He let out a cry of pain and ran away. He almost fell off of the edge of the roof but he managed to extend his baton to catch himself. He leaped across rooftops to the best of his ability but stopped just before jumping into his open window. If he were to go back home, what would happen? He would go to the hospital to get stitches but then his father would bring him back home and expect him to fight Ladybug, Queen Bee and Volpina. He debated on what to do before jumping across more buildings. He made it to his destination quickly. He carefully pried open the unlocked window. He stood there for a few seconds, blood dripping down his arm. Before he could alert the girl of his presence, his head was reeling as he collapsed on the floor of her bedroom floor. He heard the girl jolt awake.

"Hello?" Marinette asked quietly.

"H-help." Chat begged, his voice barely over a whisper.

"Chat Noir?" She asked as she ran over to him, wincing slightly.

"Please help me." Was all he was able to say before passing out.

"Chat!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that took a while but I went as fast as I could so sorry if there are any mistakes.


	7. Chapter 7

Marinette's breathing quickened as she grabbed his head and put it in her lap.

"Chat! Chat wake up! Please Chat!" She begged, but to no avail.

"Marinette, what's going on?" Tikki asked quietly.

"Um, nothing. I just had a bad dream about Chat, you can go back to sleep now." She whispered. It was dark in the room so Tikki couldn't see Chat on the ground. She agreed and fell back asleep. Marinette let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, okay, what do I do? I need to...stop the bleeding," She stood and grabbed a cloth. She pressed it to his shoulder but it did little to stop it. "Damn it, I think he needs stitches!" She whisper yelled. She was about to grab her phone to call 112 but Chat grabbed her wrist.

"No hospitals." He muttered, trying to keep his breath level. If she put him in the hospital his father would no doubt be called. And what would he say happened? 'Yeah, I got attacked by Queen Bee because I'm the infamous Chat Noir'.

"Chat, we have to get you to a hospital!" Marinette insisted.

"No."

"Chat! You need stitches or else you're going to bleed out!" She tried to pull him up but he let out a cry of pain.

"You can't lift me without causing me immense pain and I can't stand very well. Looks like you're stuck with me." Chat tried to smile but winced as a cut on his lip split open and a drop of blood trailed out.

"But Chat, you need stitches." She pressed the cloth back to the wound.

"You're a seamstress, are you not?" Chat gestured with his head towards her designing supplies.

"Chat, sewing a dress and sewing skin are two very different things! And I don't have any anesthetics so you would feel everything." She explained.

"I can handle it, princess." He assured. She groaned and walked over to her sewing supplies.

"Okay, what do I need? Needle, thread, cloth for afterwards, and rubbing alcohol." She said to herself, grabbing the things that she would need. She quickly hurried back over to her bleeding partner, letting out a string of coughs.

"Princess, are you okay?" Chat tried to sit up but quickly regretted his decision.

"Yeah, I just have a tickle in my throat." She answered calmly, pulling his head back on her legs.

"It sounds like more than a tickle." He croaked.

"I'm fine, I promise." She grabbed the rag she used to stop the bleeding and poured some rubbing alcohol on it then dabbed at the gash. He held his breath and winced at the sting of the alcohol. "So, why did you come to me? I'm sure there are hundreds of other people you could've gone to." She finished sanitizing the wound and started sterilizing her needles.

"Because I knew you could help me, Princess." He grinned again.

"Bite this, this is going to hurt." She said, putting a piece of scrap fabric in his mouth. He did as she said and bit the pink fabric. She took a deep breath before placing her needle at the top of the gash and pushed in.

Chat released a scream that was muffled by the cloth in his mouth. She muttered a few curses and started placing lingering touches on his face to calm him. He started breathing heavily and clenched his fists.

"I'm sorry Chat, I told you I didn't have anything to numb you. We can wait as long as you need." She spoke softly and as calmly as she could. He used his good hand to remove the cloth from his mouth.

"Well, if we wait as long as I need, we'll never get this done," Chat joked. "Let's do this now and get it over with."

"Are you sure?" She asked cautiously. If they go through with this and he isn't ready then her parents would definitely hear him.

"Positive." He shoved the pink cloth back into his mouth and gave her a determined look. She sighed and pulled the needle all the way through, pulling the thread until the knot. He drew in a sharp breath.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Do you need to stop?" She questioned. He shook his head and took several shuttering breaths. She whined slightly and pushed the needle back in on the other side. He screamed again but quieter this time.

They repeated this process for about an hour before the cut was stitched to the best of her ability. By the end Chat was sweating with tears flowing from his eyes. Marinette guiltily pulled the scrap of fabric out of Chat's mouth and put it on the floor. He tried to take in a breath but his breaths were labored and uneven.

"Chat, I'm so so sorry." Marinette apologized, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She just made her partner cry. Chat has always been so strong yet she just made him scream and cry.

"Princess, I told you to do that. Don't apologize." He smiled at her which only made her feel worse. He used to give her that smile after they would defeat an akuma together. He had hurt her but he must have his reasons. She shouldn't feel this bad for him, he just pushed her off a building for gods sake, yet she did.

"It still doesn't change the fact that I just sewed your arm back on! I should've just called the hospital. I should've told someone." She quickly stood up and started pacing the room. He groaned and stood up slowly.

"Princess, I told you to do it, I wouldn't let you take me to the hospital." He used his good hand and brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. The action made Marinette's heart melt. The single touch from her partner made her burst into tears.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, avoiding touching his freshly bandaged wound, and started crying into his chest. Chat was surprised at first but held onto her. He almost didn't let his bloodied hand touch her back but she used one of her hands to pull it onto her back. He understood what she meant and pulled her closer. Marinette clutched onto his suit as tight as she could and started falling to the ground.

_'If whatever made Chat team with Hawkmoth hadn't happened then none of this would've happened. If Ladybug hadn't recruited Volpina and Queen Bee he wouldn't have bled out on the floor.'_ She thought.

Chat slowly lowered himself down onto the ground with her and held Marinette against his chest. He felt her warm tears seep through the black material of his suit. After a few minutes, Marinette stood quickly and ran to the bathroom in her room.

"Princess, are you okay?" Chat stood and walked to the room. Before he could get in, she slammed the door.

"I'm fine." Her answer was muffled slightly by the door. He placed a few light knocks on the door.

"Princess, come on, open the door," He tried to open the door but she was pushing it shut with her leg. "Princess... Marinette, open the door." He heard a noise that sounded an awful lot like someone throwing up and coughing immediately after.

"I'm-I'm fine!" She called. She was quite far from fine. She looked down into the toilet bowl to see not only her lunch, but also the same crimson blood she saw earlier that night. She let out more coughs and wasn't able to stop Chat from opening the door. He looked in and saw her coughing on the floor in fetal position, blood trailing out of her mouth.

"Shit! Marinette," He ran in and picked her up slightly. "Marinette, Marinette, what's happening? Mari," Before she could answer, her breathing quickened then she went limp in his arms. "Princess! Fuck!" He whisper yelled. He picked her up and placed her on her chaise. He was about to call for help but her window opened and a figure jumped in.

"Sorry that took so long but I got caught up with something then I went back to the hotel and couldn't find it so I ended up going to every drug store here but they didn't have any. I got one that works fine but I told daddy to order some, I'll get you a whole pack when it gets-" Queen Bee stopped when she saw what was happening. Chat Noir, the person she just fought and cut open, was stood over a limp Marinette, coughing up blood, with a scared look in his eyes. She looked between the two and quickly drew her rapier and pointed it at his throat.

"Wait, it's not what it looks like! She was helping me and then she ran into the bathroom and threw up then started having a coughing fit. I went in but she was coughing too hard to tell me what happened and then she passed out." Chat explained as he put his hands up in surrender. She lowered her weapon and carefully turned to Marinette. She shook her but nothing happened.

"Is that really what happened?" She asked.

"Yes," He answered. Bee put her rapier away and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. She was burning to the touch. "Is she okay? What happened?" He questioned but he only got a cold glare from her. She pulled her rapier out again but instead of pointing it at him, she held the hilt up to her mouth and spoke quietly into it. A mumbled response came from it before Chloe put it away.

"Get a cloth and put cold water on it. She has a fever and that will help." She ordered. He nodded and walked into Marinette's bathroom. He grabbed a pink cloth and dampened it with cold water then handed it to Queen Bee. She grabbed it from his hand and delicately and pressed it to her head. Chat looked back to the bathroom and flushed the toilet for her. He grabbed another cloth and started wiping the blood she coughed up. He cleaned it all up when he heard another voice in the room. He left the bathroom to see Volpina with her back to him. Her and Queen Bee were talking in hushed tones. He cleared his throat and they both turned to him.

"You're really here," Volpina crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?"

"I needed help. Queen Bee did, after all, almost cut my arm off." Chat copied her motion and folded his arms carefully, as to not disrupt his stitches.

"And you pushed Ladybug off of a roof, I think we're even." Volpina retorted. When she said Ladybug he tensed up.

"Is Ladybug okay?" Before they could respond to Chat's question, Marinette jolted awake. Her breathing was fast and shallow.

"Marinette! Thank god you're awake!" Volpina knelt down next to the chaise and hugged the bluenette.

"Hey," She croaked. She looked around and saw Queen Bee and Volpina but Chat was just out of her sight. "Is Chat okay? Where is he? He was here before I passed out." She ranted.

"Don't worry Princess, it's okay, I'm right here, I'm safe. Well, as safe as I can be in a room with two heroines that want to kill me." Chat said, kneeling on the other side of her. She let out a sigh of relief and leaned forward to hug him.

"I'm sorry, did we miss something?" Queen Bee asked, ice lacing her voice. Marinette released her grip on Chat Noir's neck and laid back down.

"I'm super tired, can you take me to my bed?" She asked Chat. He nodded and picked her up with his good arm. He walked up the ladder leading to her bed and gently placed her down. She fell asleep instantly. Chat didn't have to turn around to know that Volpina and Queen Bee were staring at him. He turned and confirmed his suspicions, both girls were staring at him in disbelief. He slowly walked down the steps and stopped right in front of Queen Bee.

"Listen, I know that you both hate me, but don't make her hate me too. She's the only person that I feel like I can trust that isn't on my team. You can hate me, you can fight me, you can even kill me, just don't make her lose faith that I can be good again, please." Chat spoke softly, as to not wake Marinette up, but powerfully. The superheroines exchanged glances before moving so Chat could get to the window. But before he could open the window, Volpina grabbed his wrist.

"I won't tell her to lose faith, but her decision to trust you is still her own. But if you hurt Ladybug again I will do everything in my power to make you pay, even if that means convincing Marinette to hate you." The vixen released his wrist, allowing him to leave. He opened the window and jumped out. But not before whispering three words that only he could hear.

"Goodnight, My Lady."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos etc etc. you can find me on tumblr, my url is taosaf


	8. Chapter 8

Chat returned to his house with a stitched up shoulder and newfound knowledge. As soon as he landed on the floor he released his transformation. Plague flew out of his ring and landed on Adrien's chest.

"Marinette is Ladybug." Adrien whispered.

"What? Kid, how did you find that out?" Plagg flew up to his face to look him in the eyes.

"She has the same bluebell eyes and caring personality. There's no one else that could be Ladybug." Adrien said softly.

"Wait, your father will need to know this." Plagg said worriedly. Adrien propped himself up on his elbows.

"No, I'm not telling anyone I know. Not Nino, not Nathanael, and definitely not my father." Adrien stood up and walked over to his bed, then sat on the edge. He buried his face in his hands. "I hate this. I hate having to choose between family and the right. Plagg, I've made such a big mistake."

"No, you did what you thought was right-" Plagg started.

"No, I knew that working with my father wasn't right. I knew that I needed to go to the police or Ladybug and tell them but I couldn't. I lost my mother already and I couldn't lose him too." He explained. Plagg was about to comfort the boy but a knock sounded at the door.

"Adrien, Gabriel would like to see you in his study." Nathalie's voice came from outside his door.

"Okay, I'll be out in just a second." He called back. She stayed there for a few seconds before going back down the steps. Adrien looked down at his shoulder and saw the stitches through his shirt. He stood and put on a new shirt then walked to his fathers study. He opened the door to see Nino and Nathanael pacing worriedly and his father sitting calmly at his desk. Nino and Nathanael saw him and ran to hug him but his father didn't even look up.

"Thank god you're back! I was worried sick!" Nino exclaimed, accidentally pushing on Adrien's stitches.

"Adrien, why were you gone for two hours? Did something happen that we should know about?" Gabriel asked coldly, finally looking at him.

"No, father," Adrien felt blood start to seep into his shirt and looked down but the black hue of his shirt made it hard to see. "I was on patrol and got sidetracked."

"You were gone for two hours. What really happened?" Gabriel stood from his desk.

"Exactly what I said. I got sidetracked by Queen Bee." Adrien responded.

"Wait, Queen Bee as in the hero working with Ladybug?" Nino asked, placing his hand on Adrien's bad shoulder.

"Yeah. She attacked me and it went on for a really long time. I was able to get out with few cuts but I'm still very worn out. I don't think that I can fight for the next few days." Adrien said, crossing his arms carefully. Gabriel glared at his son for a second before coming to a decision.

"Fine. Your friends will take control of the fighting, you will tell them what to do. I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow and I won't be back for two weeks." Gabriel started walking out of his office.

"Of course you still care about your job than me." Adrien muttered loud enough for Gabriel to hear.

"Excuse me?!" Gabriel asked furiously.

"You are excused." Adrien fired back, pushing past his father and up to his room. He slammed the door and slid against it to the floor. He leaned his head back on the wood. Adrien pulled up the collar of his shirt and saw his stitches were already loosening. "I didn't even get through thirty minutes before I reopened the stitches." He let out a dry laugh before wincing.

"We can still get you to the hospital-" Plagg suggested.

"No," Adrien interrupted. "If I go to the hospital I will have to tell them what happened and I can't exactly do that." Adrien stood and stumbled to his bed. He fell asleep the second he hit the pillow.

_Adrien was at the park with his parents. They were playing hide and seek._

_"One, two, three..." Gabriel started counting and Adrien instantly recognized where they were. This was one of the only times when he truly felt like they were a family. He recalled this memory whenever he was having a bad day._

_"Come here!" His mom whisper yelled. Adrien grinned and ran over to her. She grabbed him and pulled him onto her lap._

_Their hiding spot was terrible, they were sitting together, giggling, behind a tree, but it was still such an amazing moment. His father counted to twenty then set off to find them. He found them quickly, which wasn't very surprising. They all burst into laughter, and Adrien looked up at his parents faces. Gabriel had his eyes squeezed tight, laughing silently. His mother was looking down at him with her beautiful green eyes and her toothy yet soft smile. The memory changed but the smile stayed._

_This time, he was with his Lady. She had the same beautiful smile as his mother spread across her face as they raced across buildings. It was so bittersweet to see her smile again because her smile is so beautiful but he might never see her smile again._

_Suddenly, the dream changed. It went from them jumping across buildings to when she fell. When he pushed her. The fear in her eyes. The way she reached out for him to save her like he had so many times before but this time he didn't reach out to grab her hand. Instead of a smile that crinkled the corner of her eyes accompanied by a sweet, angelic, laugh, her eyes were wide open, a scream ripping from her throat. He watched in horror as she fell down, down, down, almost endlessly. She finally hit the ground with a sickening crack. She lay there, lifeless on the concrete, blood pooling from her mouth to the street below. He jumped down to save her but there was no saving her._

_"C-Chat," She croaked, her voice barely a whisper. "Can you take me to my bed?" She whispered, the same words Marinette said earlier. He nodded before he laid her down on white sheets. He was surrounded by people crying, why were they crying? He looked back at her to see her in a white dress, her hair curled, and she was dead._

_"It's your fault!" Her parents screamed._

_"It's your fault! It's all your fault! It's all your fault, Chat! It's all your fault!" The people around him chanted, forcing him to bump into her coffin. He felt something behind him grab onto his shoulders. He stared as Marinette looked at him with pale skin and blank eyes._

_"It's all your fault, Adrien Agreste." She said, her voice dropping scarily low at his name. They kept chanting it, over and over again._

_"It's all your fault, Adrien! It's all your fault, Adrien! Adrien! Adrien!"_

He woke to the sound of someone screaming his name and shaking him. He couldn't see because his eyes were clouded with tears. He wiped them away quickly and he saw who was in front of him. Nino was sitting next to him with a worried expression on his face and Nathanael standing next to his bed.

"W-what's going on?" Adrien sat up quickly, wincing at the movement.

"We came to check on you and you kept screaming about how it was your fault." Nino explained.

"What do think is your fault?" Nathanael asked carefully. Adrien wiped tears from his eyes before looking at them.

"Everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually like this chapter very much so I was going to rewrite it but then I remembered that you guys haven't had a chapter in months so I decided to just give you guys this


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO POST BUT I PROMISE MORE WILL BE OUT SOON AND HOPEFULLY THIS FIC WILL BE DONE BY THE END OF THE MONTH

Marinette woke in a cold sweat for about the tenth time that night. She couldn’t get stay asleep because she just kept having nightmares. About falling, about fighting Chat, about them before the fight. Those were the worst, because they always ended in Chat dying, not herself. They would start at patrol, then have some fun. Then Chat would slip. He would crush his chest on the cement. Bash his skull against a roof. Bleed out after impaling himself on a fence. Marinette’s fever dreams didn’t hold back. She groaned and held back a sob, rubbing her hands against her face. She looked at her clock.

“It’s only six? How do I keep waking up?” She asked herself before rolling over on her side to try and fall asleep again. After about a half an hour of trying (and failing) to fall asleep, she grabbed her phone. A few texts from Alya asking if she was alright, a few from Chloe asking the same, and a news notification. She tried to sit up but only got about halfway before giving up. She opened it and clicked the link it provided. It opened to an amateur video of Queen Bee and Chat Noir fighting. She slapped a hand over her mouth to silence a gasp when she saw Queen Bee get a clean slice on his shoulder. Queen Bee did that. Chloe did that. The rest of the video was Chat running off and Queen Bee flitting in the other direction. Marinette slowly put her phone down at her side. She tried to hold back sobs but slowly they overpowered her. She let them wrack her body, causing her stomach to lurch. She leaned over to the bucket that Alya had given her and threw up into it before continuing to cry. She wasn’t even aware of how much time had passed when she heard her mother call out that she was going to be late. She slowly wiped the tears from her eyes as her mom came through the trapdoor.

“Marinette, honey,” Sabine said, stepping through the trap door. She looked at Marinette’s bed and saw her curled up with a bucket at her side. “Oh, sweetie! Are you okay?” She quickly climbed the steps to Marinette’s bed and sat on the edge. Marinette responded with a few tears and soft shake of her head. Sabine said that she didn’t have to go to school if she didn’t feel well enough. She then cleaned out Marinette’s bucket for her and went down to the bakery. Marinette groaned and wiped away the tears furiously.

She tossed and turned but nothing could get Chat off her mind. She had to find out what was wrong with Chat.

 

* * *

 

“Ugh! Doesn’t anyone watch where they’re going anymore?” Chloe yelled when Nino ran into her-very literally-and spilled her coffee. She managed to avoid most of the scalding liquid, though, some of it did get on her white shirt and her hands.

“Sorry Chloe, I can buy you another if you want.” Nino offered.

“Thanks,” Chloe said, somewhat sarcastically. She tried to get what she could off her hands by shaking them but that wasn’t much. “Damn, Lahiffe. Watch where you’re going next time. This is hot and sticky, ugh.” Chloe groaned.

“Again, I’m sorry. Come on, I was about to go grab myself a coffee, I’ll get you one too.” Nino started walking out of the school and towards some coffee shop that Chloe wasn’t familiar with, though, she didn’t know many places that aren’t five stars. It was a cozy shop, which wasn’t Chloe’s favorite, but it was nice. Nino ordered a deathwish coffee and Chloe decided that it sounded like a good option. They sat down after getting their drinks and a pregnant silence spread over them.

“So, why do you need lots of caffeine?” Chloe asked as Nino essentially chugged his coffee. She had yet to try it, she wasn’t actually a coffee person but she was up late last night with Marinette so she needed coffee to not fall asleep in the middle of the hallway.

“I could ask the same of you.” Nino said, clearly avoiding the question.

“I asked first and you spilled coffee on me, you first.” Chloe took a tiny sip of her coffee and almost spit it out because it was way stronger than she liked or had ever had.

“Fine, Adrien was up late last night with nightmares and I helped him to fall back asleep. Your turn.” Nino responded calmly, downing the rest of his coffee before ordering another.

“I was also with a friend but she was... sick. So I stayed with her for a while.” Chloe took a large gulp of her coffee and started coughing and spit some on Nino.

“Wow. Thanks,” Nino grabbed a napkin and started dabbing at the coffee on his face. “What friend? I saw Sabrina just before we left and she’s your only friend.” Chloe blushed heavily.

“She’s not my only friend! I have friends now, kind of, and they’re awesome!” Chloe exclaimed. Nino chuckled slightly before his face went somber.

“Chloe, I brought you here for another reason than just for coffee,” Nino started. “I...there’s no easy way to say this. Are...are you Queen Bee?” Chloe’s eyes went wide and she slapped a hand over Nino’s mouth.

“What? Why would you think that?” Chloe questioned nervously.

“Well you just slapped my mouth even at the implication, so there’s that. And you’ve been quiet and you talked to Marinette and Alya more than you ever have in the history of ever. Which brings me to my next question, are they Volpina and Ladybug? I mean, it’s the only thing that makes sense though, I suppose they could be other people.” Nino sat back in his chair.

“I...you are a lot smarter than people give you credit for. Yes, I am Queen Bee but you have to promise not to tell a single soul,” Chloe said quietly. Nino raised his hands in surrender. “But that leads me to believe that you have a reason to pay attention to the superheroes, but why? Are you working with Chat Noir or Hawkmoth? That would make the most sense.” Chloe shot back.

“You’re clever too. Yes, I am. So, now that we know what sides we’re on, let’s get this out of the way, I don’t hate you. I don’t hate you, or Ladybug, or Volpina, I don’t even agree with Chat. But he’s my best friend, and he only has his dad left. I don’t agree with what he’s doing but it makes sense. And I know that he doesn’t want to do this, he really loves her and this is killing him.” Nino looked down sadly.

“What do we do? They don’t want to fight each other but they can’t agree, so what do we do?” Chloe asked.

“Well, there’s not much we can do. We can get Ladybug to see Chat’s side but she will never give away her miraculous. Or we could get Chat to betray his dad but he’ll never do that.” Nino explained.

“First, I need to know your team. I need to know what assets I have to work with. You guessed Alya and Marinette but I can’t figure out your team because I don’t know them.”

“I’m Jade Turtle, Nathanael is Le Paon and...Adrien is Chat Noir.” Nino looked down at the last part. Chloe sat up. Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste. Chat Noir is her best friend since childhood. She nearly killed her best friend. She put a hand to her mouth, convinced she was going to throw up.

“Um, w-what powers do you guys have?” She asked, trying as hard as possible to keep her cool. When you are the daughter of the mayor and you have cameras and press on you constantly, you have to learn to be calm in all situations and she thought she mastered it but right now she could barely speak.

“You know Chat’s,” Nino started. Chloe was glad he didn’t call him Adrien, she was already trying so hard to deny what happened. “I can slow down time but not for very long. Paon can see glimpses of the future with his fan.” Nino explained. Chloe thought for a minute. She wiped the traces of tears from her eyes and a look of determination spread across her face.

“I have a plan.”


	10. Chapter 10

“What?! Marinette can’t fight! She’s in too terrible of shape!” Volpina yelled at the yellow superheroine.

“Listen, I know she can’t fight but this is our only chance to stop this! We can’t be at war anymore!” Queen Bee returned.

“And working with Chat?! Are you insane?!” Volpina slammed her gloved hand down on the table in front of her.

“No I’m not! This is tearing Marinette apart! Would you rather us get this over with or have her get worse and worse because she won’t go to the doctor until this ends! So you’re either with me or against me, choose.” Queen Bee flitted out the large window leaving an angry Volpina behind.

 

* * *

 

“Why can’t we tell him?” Nathanael asked.

“Because it would ruin the plan. Ladybug, Chat, and Hawkmoth can’t know.” Nino responded.

“Are we really going to do this? We don’t even know it will work.” Nathanael looked extremely uncomfortable.

“It’ll work, I promise.” Nino put a hand on Nathanael’s shoulder.

“Okay,” Nathanael quickly transformed and pulled out his fan. The eye of the feather started glowing as Nathanael closed his eyes, concentrating. “It’s blurry, I-I can’t see.” Nathanael stuttered.

“Hey, it’s okay, you can do it.” Nino put a hand on Nathanael’s shoulder. He took a shuttering breath and concentrated harder.

“Okay, I can see Chat, he’s...I don’t know. It looks almost like he’s...exploding.” Nathanael described.

“Exploding?” Nino was almost afraid for the answer.

“Well, not exploding but he looks like he’s radiating darkness, it’s almost like it’s bursting from him. It’s hard to explain.”

“Okay, look around, what else is happening?” Nino asked. Nathanael turned and looked around.

“Gabriel is there, he’s unconscious I think. Ladybug is running towards Chat.” Then Nathanael fell to the ground.

“Nathanael! Are you okay?” Nino shook Nathanael’s shoulder. Nathanael shot up.

“I...” Nathanael stopped, clearly shaken up by what he saw. “I think someone’s going to die.”

 

* * *

 

“Wait, was it Chat? Did Chat die?” Alya asked. Nino, Nathanael, and Chloe decided to meet up at Alya’s house to discuss their plan.

“I don’t know, it’s always kinda hazy so I couldn’t tell, it just felt like someone was gone.” Nathanael stared into his mug.

“So Chat is going to turn evil and someone is going to die?” Chloe asked.

“Well, not necessarily,” Nino started. “Chat’s miraculous represents destruction so the darkness that he’s radiating might be from his miraculous and not from him.” Nino explained. A silence fell over the group of teens.

“Why the glum faces?” Alya’s mom asked.

“It’s nothing, mom.” Alya lied.

“Well, I just made some cookies for anyone who wants them, they’re on the counter.” She walked out of the room leaving the teens in yet another silence.

“So...what do we do? You said you had a plan but has it changed any now that you know someone’s going to die?” Alya broke the silence, addressing Chloe.

“Well, I still feel like it’s the only option. But, now that we know that someone is going to die, do any of you want to leave? I’m not going to force any of you to do this if you are scared.” Chloe offered.

“I’m terrified of dying. Like, fucking petrified, but two of my best friends are in danger and I won’t let them get hurt.” Nino said.

“Okay, it’s settled,” Chloe spoke. “Now, when are we going to do this?”

 

* * *

 

“Why are we waiting two weeks to strike? Shouldn’t we do this sooner?” Adrien asked.

“No, they’ll expect us to go now, a sneak attack will be more effective.” Nino excused. Adrien thought for a second.

“I’d guess. Okay, two weeks.” Adrien agreed.

“Let’s hope this works.” Nino muttered.

It really has to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn’t finish it by January WHOOPS but I’m hoping it’ll be done soon, idk, I’m the worst


End file.
